[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 10 (Friday, January 15, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2641-2642]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-1002]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-6220-7]
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability
Act (CERCLA) or Superfund, Section 104; Announcement of Proposal
Deadline for the Competition for the 1999 Brownfields Cleanup Revolving
Loan Fund Pilots
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of proposal deadlines, revised guidelines.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will
begin to accept proposals for the 1999 Brownfields Cleanup Revolving
Loan Fund Pilots on January 15, 1999. The brownfields cleanup revolving
loan fund pilots (each funded up to $500,000) test cleanup and
redevelopment planning models, direct special efforts toward removing
regulatory barriers without sacrificing protectiveness, and facilitate
coordinated environmental cleanup and redevelopment efforts at the
federal, state, and local levels. EPA expects to select up to 63
additional brownfields cleanup revolving loan fund pilots by May 1999.
The deadline for new proposals for the 1999 brownfields revolving loan
fund pilots is March 8, 1999. Proposals must be postmarked by March 8,
1999, and sent to U.S. EPA Headquarters. In addition, duplicate copies
of the proposal must also be submitted to the appropriate U.S. EPA
Regional Office, ATTN: Brownfields Coordinator.
The Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund pilot proposals are
selected on a competitive basis. To ensure a fair selection process,
evaluation panels consisting of EPA Regional and Headquarters staff and
other federal agency representatives will assess how well the proposals
meet the selection criteria outlined in the newly revised application
booklet The Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative: Proposal
Guidelines for Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund (January 1999).
DATES: This action is effective as of January 15, 1999. All proposals
must be postmarked or sent to U.S. EPA Headquarters and a duplicate
copy sent to the appropriate U.S. EPA Regional Office via registered or
tracked mail no later than March 8, 1999.
ADDRESSES: BCRLF guidelines can be obtained by calling the Superfund
Hotline at the following numbers: Washington, DC Metro Area at 703-412-
9810, Outside Washington, DC Metro at 1-800-424-9346, TDD for the
Hearing Impaired at 1-800-553-7672.
Copies of the Proposal Guidelines for Brownfields Cleanup Revolving
Loan Fund are available via the Internet:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The U.S. EPA's Office of Solid Waste
and Emergency Response, Outreach and Special Projects Staff, Barbara
Bassuener (202) 260-9347 or Jennifer Millett (202) 260-6454.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA)
Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower
states, local governments, communities, and other stakeholders involved
in economic redevelopment to
[[Page 2642]]
work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely cleanup,
and sustainably reuse brownfields. As part of this Initiative, EPA has
awarded cooperative agreements to States (including U.S. territories),
political subdivisions (including cities, towns, counties), and Indian
tribes to capitalize Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund pilots.
The purpose of these pilots is to test brownfields cleanup revolving
loan fund models that direct special efforts toward facilitating
coordinated public and private brownfields cleanup efforts at the
federal, state, and local levels.
In fiscal year 1999, the EPA expects to select up to 63 new BCRLF
pilots to be funded up to $500,000 per pilot by the end of June 1999.
Eligible entities for FY 1999 BCRLF pilots, as in previous years,
will be entities that have been awarded Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilots prior to FY99. In addition, political subdivisions
with jurisdiction over sites that have either (1) been the subject of a
targeted brownfields assessment (formerly called targeted site
assessments), or (2) been selected by the U.S. EPA prior to January 1,
1999 to be the subject of a targeted brownfields assessment, are also
eligible for a single BCRLF pilot award. BCRLF pilot proposals do not
have to be limited to sites identified, characterized, or assessed
under a previously awarded assessment pilot or targeted brownfields
assessment.
Proposals from coalitions, formed among the eligible entities, are
permitted to apply, but a single eligible entity must be identified as
the legal recipient. Additionally, a letter of support from each
coalition member must be included as an attachment.
Eligible entities must demonstrate through their proposal: (1) An
ability to manage a revolving loan fund and environmental cleanups; (2)
a need for cleanup funds; (3) commitment to creative leveraging of EPA
funds with public-private partnerships and in-kind services; and (4) a
clear plan for sustaining the environmental protection and related
economic development activities initiated through the BCRLF program.
The eligible entities must meet EPA's threshold and evaluation
criteria. There is no guarantee of an award. Also, the size of the
awards may vary (for example, from $50,000 to $500,000), depending on
the proposal's responses to the evaluation criteria.
Funding for the brownfields cleanup revolving loan fund pilots is
authorized under section 104(d)(1) of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended, (CERCLA
or Superfund), 42 U.S.C. 9604(d)(1).
Submission to Congress and the General Accounting Office
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule,
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this action and
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. This action is not
a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
Date Signed: January 8, 1999.
Approved:
Linda Garczynski,
Director, Outreach and Special Projects Staff, Office of Solid Waste
and Emergency Response.
[FR Doc. 99-1002 Filed 1-14-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-U
